Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần 30 Thường Niên

 Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần 30 Thường Niên

Bài Phúc âm hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu chữa người đàn bà bị quỷ ám gập lưng trong đền Thánh vào ngày Sabat không ngoài mục đích để dậy cho người phái siêu và người do thái bài học là họ phải giữ ngày Sabat, nhưng không phải chỉ giữ khơi khơi bằng môi bằng miệng, nhưng họ phải biết dùng ngày nghĩ để thờ phượng Chúa và làm việc ngay lành phúc đức. Nếu họ biết dùng ngày nghĩ để thả trâu, thả bò, thả gia súc đi ăn, đi uống nước tại sao họ lại cấm Chúa chữa bệnh ngày sabat... Đúng là bọn giả hình.

Còn Chúng ta thì sao, chúng ta có giữ ngày chúa nhật như điều răn thứ ba trong mười điều răn của Chúa. Có người trong chúng ta chẳng những không giữ xác ngày Chúa nhật mà còn không đi lễ ngày Chúa nhật, một số chúng ta vì công ăn việc làm, điều đó có thể chập nhận được nhưng cần phải kiếm thời gian đi dự thánh lễ Chúa Nhật, nhưng còn một số không nhỏ trong chúng ta, có tiền có bạc rủng rỉng, chẳng phải đi làm ngày Chúa Nhật, nhưng thích du hí, trên các tàu con du lịch vào ngày cuối tuần.. tha hồ vui chơi chẳng còn nhớ ngày chúa Nhật chẳng còn nhớ thánh lễ buộc trong ngày Chúa Nhật.

Ngày Chúa Nhật là ngày của Chúa, Chúa muốn chúng ta nghỉ ngơi có thời gian để đến với chúa, có thời giờ để nghĩ tới Chúa, tới người anh chị em chung quanh chúng ta. Bài Phúc âm Chúa Giêsu dậy cho chúng ta thấy ma quỷ có quyền năng, chúng có quyền phép để hành hạ thân xác và tinh thần con người chúng ta nếu chúng ta yếu đuối hoặc để chúng tự do hành động. Nhưng quyền năng của ma quỹ chí có thể hủy hoại con người chứ không thể gải thoát con người khỏi cảnh tù đày trong hố sâu của tội lỗi. Thiên Chúa là người mới có quyền phép để giải thòat chúng ta khỏi sự dữ, sự đau khổ nơi thân xác và tinh thần. Vì thế chúng ta cần siêng đến Chúa, nhất là các ngày lễ Chúa nhật để chúng ta được thêm sức mạnh phần hồn và phần xác qua của ăn chúa ban cho chúng ta bằng chính máu và thịt của Chúa Giêsu. Chúng hãy để thân xác nghĩ ngơi để lời chúa đến và được lắng đọng trong tâm hồn, để lời Chúa đem lại cho chúng bình an và tự do và không bị ràng buộc những thèm khát cám dỗ của Satan

Meditation:

Is there anything that keeps you bound up or oppressed? Infirmity, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, can befall us for a variety of reasons and God can use it for some purpose that we do not understand. When Jesus encountered an elderly woman who was spent of her strength and unable to stand upright, he gave her words of faith and freedom and he restored her to health. She must have suffered much, both physically and spiritually for eighteen years, since Jesus remarked that Satan had bound her. How can Satan do this? The scriptures indicate that Satan can act in the world with malice and can cause injuries of a spiritual nature, and indirectly even of a physical nature. Satan's power, however, is not infinite. He cannot prevent the building up of God's kingdom or reign in our lives. Jesus demonstrates the power and authority of God's kingdom in releasing people who are oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal weakness and sin, and by the harassment of the evil one in their lives. It took only one word from Jesus to release this woman instantly of her infirmity. Do you believe in the power of Jesus to release you from affliction and oppression?

The Jewish leaders were indignant that Jesus would perform such a miraculous work on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. They were so caught up in their ritual observance of the Sabbath that they lost sight of God's mercy and goodness. Jesus healed on the Sabbath because God does not rest from showing his mercy and love, ever. God's word has power to change us, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Is there anything that keeps you bound up or that weighs you down? Let the Lord speak his word to you and give you freedom.

"Lord Jesus, you grant freedom to those who seek you. Give me freedom to walk in your way of love and to praise and worship you always. Show me how I can bring your mercy and healing love to those in need around me."

Monday 30th Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, in today’s psalm you remind me that you are a God who bears our burdens… who is our salvation. That’s why I come to you today in prayer. You know my burdens. You know how I long to experience the spiritual freedom that comes from your healing grace. All my trust is in you, my God; show me that path of salvation.

Encountering Christ:

· The Harshness of Hypocrisy: Once again Jesus came face to face with the sin that seems to stir his anger the most: hypocrisy, putting on the appearance of having virtues that one in fact does not have. The synagogue leader was perfectly happy indirectly excoriating Jesus for healing (considered a form of work forbidden by the Sabbath laws) on the Sabbath, while at the same time contentedly caring for his livestock on the Sabbath. This shows hypocrisy because the virtue behind keeping the Sabbath is faith in an all-powerful and loving God (thus we can take one day a week for rest without fearing that our lives and livelihoods will unravel), not legalistic perfectionism. The synagogue leader claimed to know and love God, as evidenced by his minute observance of Sabbath laws, but he couldn’t see how Jesus healing this oppressed, crippled woman was a magnificent manifestation of God’s power and love, deserving of praise and rejoicing. Yet, the many other worshippers did see it, and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him. How often we fall into the same deadly harshness of hypocrisy! We are so focused on perfectionism, or the appearance of perfectionism, that we blind ourselves to the wonders the Lord is working all around us! For a clue to our own unconscious hypocrisy, all we need to do is reflect prayerfully on all the things we tend to complain about. What do those complaints tell us about ourselves? Are they healthy and balanced, or are they a bit too harsh, a bit too strident, a bit too turbulent, revealing our own attachments and petty self-righteousness?

· King of Kings: The most obvious lesson in this Gospel passage may slip by unnoticed if we’re not careful. Jesus points out that this woman has been suffering from a debilitating physical ailment for eighteen years. He also points out that the origin of this ailment was demonic. We don’t get any more details, except to see that Jesus was able to completely cure her with a word and a touch. Jesus is the Lord of life and history. His Kingdom is the definitive, everlasting Kingdom. The powers of evil will not prevail over Christ and his Kingdom: …I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). This power of Christ, and his solemn promise, is the source of our hope. And our hope is the source of our spiritual energy as well as our joy. Whenever we feel that energy or that joy wane, we can be sure we have lost sight of the power of Christ and his promise. To keep up our hope and our spiritual energy, we need only to keep gazing at Christ and all his loving omnipotence.

· The Unhealed: Many people are not healed of their maladies in this life. Many people suffer physical or psychological ailments for more than eighteen years, despite many prayers and sacrifices offered to the Lord. Why is this? Each case is unique because each person is unique. But one thing we know for sure: God hears all our prayers. If he doesn’t answer a petition the way we wanted, we can rest assured that his way of answering will be better. In other words, suffering is not in itself contrary to growth in holiness, to growth in faith and hope and love. Ever since Jesus himself redeemed us through the immense suffering of his Passion, this unavoidable reality has become one of God’s favorite channels of grace. St. Paul puts this beautifully in today’s first reading. He points out that we are God’s children, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17). Whatever God permits in our lives, for as long as he permits, can be woven into the tapestry of his redemption and our salvation, fitting us for the glories of heaven and the joys of deeper communion with God.

Conversing with Christ: I believe in your goodness and your wisdom, Lord. And I want to stay humble enough to always see that goodness and wisdom at work in my life and in the world around me. Please save me from the harshness of hypocrisy. Please enlighten me so that my own sufferings and challenges never become an obstacle to growth in grace. I hope in you, Lord; help me to hope more firmly.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will keep a special eye on what I complain about and how often I complain, trying to see more clearly any incipient hypocrisy at work in my life.

Romans 8:12-17

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Romans 8:14)

So often, we read passages like this one and focus on what we have to do: “I really need to work harder at being led by the Spirit.” While it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re being responsible to your calling, how often do you simply rejoice in the fact that you are a child of God? It’s true: You have a Father in heaven who loves you immensely. And just to make sure that you know this, he put his Spirit in your heart—the Spirit who confirms this truth by crying out: “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15).

As if that isn’t amazing enough, the news gets even better. Not only are you God’s child, you are also his heir (Romans 8:17). Think about Britain’s Prince William. Someday he will inherit the kingdom from his father, Prince Charles, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. All the riches and rights of the crown will be his. Now if William is looking forward to that day, how much more should you look forward to the day when you will inherit the kingdom of God? Keep in mind that your inheritance is infinitely greater! You will receive a “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). You will live forever in a place of pure beauty where every tear will be wiped away and where there will be no sorrow or crying or pain or death any more (Revelation 21:4). It boggles the mind—and it’s all yours!

Did you know that you can start to draw on your inheritance right now? In fact, God has given you his Spirit as kind of a “first installment” of all the treasures that await you (2 Corinthians 1:22). So ask the Spirit to show you how to take hold of your heavenly inheritance. Ask him to give you a taste of your Father’s goodness now. Prayers can be answered, hurts healed, and relationships restored. All it takes is a little faith and the courage to step forward and claim your inheritance.

“Lord, I stand in awe of the inheritance you have given me! Help me to avail myself of all the grace, mercy, and love that you have set aside for me today.”